


A Lord’s Guide To Picking Up A Lady At A Bar

by cjg



Series: Much Much Later [8]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Future Fic, Green Tear Whiskey, Hair Braiding, Married Couple, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjg/pseuds/cjg
Summary: The one where Percy is on a mission to solve a problem. He needs her presence, and he needs her help.OrThe one where surprise visitors send Percy across the continent in search of the only person who can help. Luckily he finds her just where he expected her to be.





	A Lord’s Guide To Picking Up A Lady At A Bar

It takes such willpower to stop himself from walking directly over to her once he finds her sitting in the only human run bar in Syngorn in the late afternoon.

He’d known she’d be here. What he wasn’t expecting was that her back would be towards the door. 

Her two companions must have arrived here first.

She’s listening to the halfling who she is sitting next to with great attention, an empty plate in front of her. The only one of the three who seems to notice his arrival is Josmin as she’s facing the door. 

He knows his hair does him no favors at the moment, there’s no hiding it with the sconces all along the walls, but even then it makes so much sense that it would be the only other overly perceptive member of the Chamber of Whitestone, besides Vex, that would notice him. 

The grey-haired woman is in her late sixty’s, her eyes are still as bright as he remembers them being during his childhood, the kind and understanding look on her face that he and his siblings so often saw from their mother’s steady and loyal friend the same as it was so long ago. 

It’s weird and frankly embarrassing having Josmin move back to the city from the Turst Fields after so long. She’s one of the few people in Whitestone that can claim that she’s known him since before he was even born. She's a bottomless pit of stories he thought long forgotten by time, that Vex now takes such delight in hearing. She is the best negotiator Whitestone has ever had in her position.

Bringing his pointer finger up to his mouth, she puts her hand back around the handle of her stein of ale. Effectively stopping her before she can point him out.

Tearing himself away from the table and looking around, Steveren is behind the bar on the far wall like he usually is. Some of the elven servers working tonight he’s never seen before. It has been a while since he’s been here.

There are very few tables open; his only option is a large cluster of furniture in the far corner of the room, large enough actually that all of Vox Machina could sit there comfortably. The three wooden benches with their padded seats and solid backs that leaves a person’s shoulders exposed allowing one to see over it into the rest of the room. The benches make a circle around a low table.

Once he’s sat down on the bench that doesn’t face out onto the rest of the bar, it only takes a minute for one of the new elven servers to come over and ask, “What can I bring you, sir?” 

This elven man doesn’t know who he is which makes what he says next a surprise. The man almost reacts, one eyebrow raising a fraction when he asks, “What has the lady in the white armor been drinking tonight?” There’s no mistaking who he’s asking about; she glows in this light. 

The server has to look, “She’s been nursing that glass of wine for about an hour,” he says once he looks back at him.

Just wine, a good day then. 

“Please send her a glass of your finest whiskey, neat, Green Tear if it’s available,” he says smoothly.

The man nods but then asks, “Who may I say sent the drink?”

He’s enjoying himself a little too much he thinks before he says, “She’ll know, no need to say anything.”

“Alright, and what will you be drinking tonight sir?” the man asks. 

He knows that his answer of, “Just two glasses of water please,” does surprise the man because one eyebrow does lift for a split second before he nods his head once more and leaves.

The server brings him the two glasses of water while her whiskey is prepared. He watches for the drink to be finished at the bar, the green color unmistakable. 

Before the server can pick it up off the bar and bring it to her, he says quietly into his earring, “I’m right behind you dear, everything is alright. Don’t rush to finish your conversation, there’s no need, but when you can come and join me.” 

As he says this he can see her back straitening and a small twitch of her head, she almost turned around to look for him, her loose hair moving across her back just a tiny bit.

Turning around after the drink is delivered, he ignores the look that Josmin gives him.

 

Sipping the first glass of cold water while thinking, it doesn’t take him long to be halfway finished with the first glass.

He nearly drops the glass when she says, “Hello darling,” softly through the earring, her voice shouldn’t be surprising, but it is. 

A moment later a hand, her hand, wraps around the bottom of the water glass from behind him. She takes it from him, and he turns to watch her drink the rest of it. 

“If it’s water, it’s work,” she says once she’s finished, her mouth forming a small pout that he finds adorable.

She watches him while walking around the other side of the bench. Putting both the glasses she’s holding down on the table, she drops down next to him, in the most over the top and dramatic manner possible. Acting like she has no control and falling into him with her entire body flush next to his own, her head resting on his chest, wrapping her arms around him. She somehow does all this while making sure that she doesn’t poke him through his thin shirt with any edges of her armor. 

Gods, she shines so brightly. 

She starts to laugh a little, and he laughs too. Then they start laughing a lot. This is part of being her husband, losing all eloquence as he laughs and relaxes next to her, she makes him forget everything but this. 

Wiggling his hand in-between them, she shifts enough that he can bring his arm around her back and settle it there. His fingers combing through her loose hair, fingers brushing over the cool dragon scales at her back, before he asks, in the tail end of his laughter, “Dearest, how are you this afternoon?” 

She lifts her head to quietly say, “I’m fine love, but I’m better now for having you here, Syngorn is always much more tolerable when you’re here too.” 

Then she gets more upright, placing a hand a little too high on his thigh for it just to be there for balance and continuing getting closer. He’s the one to close the small distance that’s left between them though, shifting his hand from her back to that lovely space between her shoulders. He knows he lets out a small sigh of relief just before his lips meet hers.

The kiss is minty even with the water she drank; he can smell the deep mint flavor of the whiskey on her lips before he tastes it on her tongue. This is the best way to experience it, without the heat and burn of the alcohol which can be overwhelming, the only heat involved is the warmth coming from her. 

He wants to take all of the flavor off her tongue. 

It takes a minute, but she must realize what he’s doing. She grins before breaking the kiss, he chases her lips but she turns slightly, and he watches as she reaches for the glass of Green Tear. 

She brings the glass up to his lips he takes hold of it with her and smells it, his sinuses instantly clearing. Tilting it just enough so a sip enters his mouth. “There you go,” she says as it lands directly on his tongue. He lets the liquid coat his tongue before he swallows it while taking his fingers off of hers. It burns, but it’s somehow much less intense because he already has the flavor in his mouth.

She puts the glass back down and he watches while she gets comfortable, his fingers running through her hair again when he asks, “How have the negotiations been?”

"Progressing well enough actually, we should reach an agreement sometime tomorrow if things stay as they have been. They’ve been very civil,” she says as she moves just slightly away and fishes for something in the pouch tied at her side.

“Would you?” she asks looking back at him, holding one of the strips of soft black leather she uses to tie off her braid in her hand. Gods this woman, she knows how much he enjoys the quiet intimacy that surrounds them whenever he works her hair into a braid, it’s a moment just for the two of them.

He nods and takes the leather from her, wrapping it around his wrist loosely while she turns to give him better access to her hair. He starts to separate her hair into three separate sections, being sure to take the time to brush each section through with his fingers before beginning in earnest. Her beautiful hair almost black in this light, standing out against the cool white of her armor. She lets out a few quiet happy sighs when he massages her scalp a little. 

“Vex, is there any way you’d be able to leave Josmin here to finish?” he asks while brushing through the second section. She shakes her head a little before he says, “It’s just that there’s a situation brewing at home which requires our attention.”

“This has to be important if it can’t wait for me to be home tomorrow,” she says with a sigh. She’s suddenly very tense; probably expecting much worse news than it actually is.

He needs to alleviate her worries, to the point then. 

“Kyor and Hunin came home this afternoon, and Odessa Tal’dore has joined their party since we last saw them,” he says calmly as he gathers the three sections, about to start, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

She shifts suddenly at that news though, turning toward him, her hair slipping through his fingers as she says surprised, “Odessa really?” then slowly, more to her herself she says, “So that’s where she went when she left Emon.”

Nodding because she can see him, he places a hand on her waist and leans forward a little. Whispering in her ear only slightly exasperated, “If you would just sit still.”

She giggles a little and nods then she straightens her head, giving him at least the chance that the braid may be directly in the center of her head.

“She wants to stay with them, she feels useful for the first time, and apparently she’s a halfway decent rogue,” he explains quietly once he’s crossed the sections of hair a few times. 

He continues to speak while braiding. “The guilt is eating her up though. She wants to apologize to her mother for leaving like she did,” he says. She sits up a little bit straiter at that news.

This is not turning out to be the best braid he’s ever put in her hair he thinks while saying, “That’s largely why I’m here. Is there anyone you know here that would be able to get a sending to Salda today? I tried to find anyone who could do it, but no one at home can today, including Hunin. There was an incident on the Alabaster Trail this morning, none of them have enough magic left to do it. We could wait for the morning, but I told them I’d try to get this done tonight.”

Deciding to start the braid over, as he separates the strands he leans in and turns her head so he can kiss her cheek, she just grins. “Give me a minute,” she says, “let me think,” and he nods getting back to work on the braid.

The braid is more than halfway done when over a minute later she begins to say, “There’s no one that I know of that could send it directly to Salda. Syldor and the family are in Emon at the moment though. A sending could be sent to him. The message could be relayed to Salda tonight.” 

“Very clever,” he whispers into her ear, and he can see the small tilt of her lips at the compliment. 

“Odessa is clever too,” he says straitening, “She used this to hide from anyone scrying on her,” taking hold of the end of her braid with his left hand and extending his right out beyond her body, showing her the familiar ring. 

“Remember the last time we saw that was after we cleaned out the house? When you gave it to Kima and Allura so they could bring it back to Highbearer Vord? You left it on the table, and apparently Odessa picked it up on our way out,” he can’t help but find amusement in this, it’s easy to picture Vex doing the same thing. 

He takes his hand back and finishes off the braid tying it off with the leather and as she whispers to herself, “That little thief.” The shock and the pride in her voice at the same time is audible; she’s the one that taught Odessa how to do that to begin with.

“There you are,” he says giggling a little at her while shifting the braid, so it rests over her right shoulder. Desperate to have her closer he wraps his arms around the cool armor at her waist and brings her back a little bit more toward him, he presses a kiss to her cheek. 

“Thank you, Percy,” she says inspecting the braid then leaning into him more, fingers running up and down his forearms where his shirt sleeves are rolled up. 

He kisses her cheek again, his lips lingering until she starts to shift. Moving, so her head rests on his shoulder. She says distracted like she’s only just thought of it, “She took the ring a year ago, she's been planning to leave Emon for a while then. Do you know if she was waiting for their group to arrive in Emon or if it was just a coincidence?”

“I don’t know,” he says, having no answer for her. 

She goes on thinking, then says in a cautiously hopeful voice, “I wonder if anything has finally happened between Hunin and Odessa? Has he said anything?”

“You honestly expect him to say something to me?” he asks laughing a little, the boys have always gone to her for that sort of thing, not him.

“Why not,” she says shrugging, “you have the same amount of experience as I do with this sort of situation.” 

She certainly has a point there; he takes her left hand with his own and their rings touch. Thinking for a moment before saying softly, “If he says anything about it the two pieces of advice I’d give is to always wait for her to check for traps and to just talk to her about it.” He waits for a second and then asks while doing his best to keep the smirk off his face, “Do you approve?”

It’s adorable how the look on her face softens as he asks that. She nods, giggling, and then saying in a surprisingly serious tone of voice, “Oh yes Percival, very sage advice.”

A moment passes before he says, "Hunin hasn’t said anything yet though, the group scattered after a short discussion and some food. Most ended up asleep in the castle. Jordana went home to the shop, and the boys are safe in their beds, and I took the opportunity to get here.” 

“I’m very glad you’re here,” she says, and he can’t keep the smirk off his face now. Then she's leaning up to kiss him again. The smell of Green Tear on her lips and the taste of it on her tongue is incredibly sweet.

 

“Vex’ahlia, come home with me, at least for tonight,” he asks as the kiss ends, not wanting to go their separate ways once they leave the bar. 

"We’ll have a family meal early in the morning, just Trinket, the boys, and us. The boys went to bed already so they’ll be up early. Hunin and I can cook breakfast,” he says, just wanting to get the idea out before she makes up her mind.

She hums softly before saying, “That sounds very nice,” against his cheek.

A moment passes, and she puts her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Her expression, so peaceful that he suddenly says, “I miss you,” already knowing that she feels the same. Unable to stop himself now that he’s started he continues to say, “I know it’s only been four days, but it’s been so quiet with just Trinket and me at home, especially before the boys arrived today.”

Her eyes are so understanding as he says that, she nods a little while listening to him.

“I’ve missed you too, and I will gladly come home tonight so long as my clockmaker keeps me punctual tomorrow. I need to be back here for my meeting at ten,” she says looking at him with an adorable smile that melts his heart and causes a slight blush to rise on his cheeks. He loves it when she calls him clockmaker.

Leaning forward just enough to press a kiss to her forehead, he softly says, “I can do that for you dear,” and then shifts back again against the bench. 

“Yes, I know you can,” she says softly as he feels her studying him even after he closes his eyes.

While she does that, he starts to think about the added layer she’s wearing. Thankfully it’s used more as a symbol than armor these days, something to remind others of who she is, what she’s done, and most importantly of what she’s capable of. He just wants to touch her without it, imagining the steady unbuckling, unbuttoning, and unlacing it takes to get her out of it.

“You thought you’d need to do more to convince me to come home?” she asks in an understanding tone. He opens his eyes and is greeted by her beautiful face and he can only shrug in response, there are, after all, some very good reasons she doesn’t just return home every night. 

He honestly wasn’t sure she’d feel it appropriate tonight, she usually doesn’t want to insult her host, the High Warden Tirelda, or risk the possibility of being late to any meetings. 

Her expression falls, a bit of concern in her eyes before she says in a knowing tone, “The accommodations at the citadel are very nice, but they do leave something wanting in two areas.”

“And what are those?” he asks, he can feel a small grin forming.

Her face lights up a little as she quickly says, leaning into him again, “The beds here are never as nice as our own at home, and there’s usually a distinct lack of my husband here.” 

“I could stay tonight instead if you want me to?” his offer genuine, even though he’d much rather go home.

“No, not tonight,” she says shaking her head slowly against his chest. Then looking up at him through her eyelashes she pauses for a second before saying, “You’ve sold me on breakfast with our angels in the morning but before that, I want our bed and you naked between soft sheets.” Gods, the feel of her gaze on him as it travels down from his face is so satisfying.

How her mind can go from innocent to wanting so quickly is something he hopes never to get used to.

"That does sound very tempting, I agree. All of that can be easily arranged,” he assures her with confidence. 

Then he finally finds the courage to ask a bit tentatively, “Are we still trying for the time being?” a hand moving just to touch her abdomen over her cool armor for a moment, remembering their disappointment from the week before.

She nods as she intertwines their fingers, looks at him and says, “Of course darling, it’s only been two months. I won’t be discouraged after only two months of trying.”

Never breaking eye contact, it’s then that she turns and wraps her arms around his shoulders and moves to straddle his right thigh in one fluid motion. His hands instantly on the small of her back just holding her in place while she settles against him further. 

The press of her armor is slightly cool through his shirt, the fabric of her long under tunic pools on his leg as she lowers herself down more.

He thinks for a moment that she’s going to start to grind against him, but she doesn’t. He can, however, feel the heat of her through their clothes, it’s more intoxicating than any drink could ever be. “Would you like me to assist you in some way?” he asks, moving his left hand off her back and around to rest on her thigh, just waiting for her answer.

She looks at him with soft eyes and a warm smile on her lips. It makes his heart skip a beat. “No, I'm fine, but thank you for the kind offer," she says sweetly taking his hand from her thigh and bringing it up to her lips. She kisses the middle of his palm lightly then presses her lips to the metal of his wedding band before letting his hand go. 

He returns his hand to her back, and when he finishes that movement, she lowers her head again to his chest. She settles in against him, all tension slowly fading from her body with each breath. 

Magnificent, that’s what she is.

Everything she’s doing right now makes him feel protected, safe, in this little space between them. He finds himself relaxing along with her, his own breathing slowing to match hers. Their bodies, automatically finding the ease that comes with having the other so close. She shifts so her forehead presses slightly into the side of his neck while the fingers of her left hand lightly run through his hair once before settling on his shoulder again, just holding on. 

“I’m sorry I scared you last week into thinking…” she starts to say but then stops, shakes her head a little then starts again, saying so honestly, “Percival, I’m always going to be disappointed every month we don’t conceive. We both want this so much, but I need you to trust that I’ll never want to stop trying until we have a baby in my belly.” 

He tightens the hold he has on her a fraction and nods a little, just a reaction, an acknowledgment to what she just said.

They stay like that for a few minutes, blocking out the rest of the world around them. He feels her every breath as it passes over his skin. 

Over that time he drops the hold he has around her until his arms rest down at his sides. From then on he’s not doing anything at all while she controls the moment and the air between them.

She shifts slowly when she moves again, her hands drifting down to hold his own, stopping for a moment to drag her fingers and the edges of her nails over his exposed forearms. It tickles him slightly, but it's also comforting at the same time.

His hands are gently squeezed three times, a silent, “I love you,” between them that he instantly returns. 

“So much,” she says into his skin just as that moment ends, turning her head to kiss his neck and then moving just a bit to kiss his jaw so softly then continuing down with her lips.

“We should go home,” he says when she ends the line of kisses she’s placed all the way down his throat, he’s thoroughly enjoying this, but his body is reacting to everything she’s said and having all of her so close.

He can feel the rumble of a soft growl grow in her before she lifts her head from where it was resting against him, a pout on her face as she says, “We will darling but not yet, we have responsibilities to attend to first.” 

Then he remembers what she said before this all started, he offers a compromise, placing a kiss to her forehead then saying softly, “Lady de Rolo, I do remember something about you wanting me naked, let’s make that the goal for the next say, two hours. I’ll be naked in our bed before two hours are over. What do you think of that?”

A massive smile spreads across her face as he speaks and she nods and says in reply, “I’ve married a smart man.” She kisses his cheek quickly before moving off of him, seemingly satisfied with his suggestion. 

Standing and retaking his hand, he has to look up at her and shake his head, gesturing down to himself he says, “I’m going to need a minute.” The smirk that appears on her face when she sees his obvious hard-on is maddening, if only he had brought his coat, that would cover it well enough, and they could leave. 

But that had been the idea, wasn’t it? No coat or vest. Taking slight advantage of how much she loves it when his appearance is imperfect. His top button undone, shirt untucked, and both shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbows exposing forearms for her to touch. Essentially looking like he does after being in the workshop for hours, just a much more clean version.

“Where are we going once we leave here?” he asks to change the subject. He squeezes her hand a couple of times, and she sits down again next to him, passing him his glass before reaching for her own. 

Before she brings the drink to her lips, she leans into him just so their elbows and shoulders touch and says, “We’re going to the citadel.” He tries not to look as she takes a sip of the green liquid, but he fails, his mouth going dry. Watching her sip her drink should not be this erotic. 

He closes his eyes as she says, “I know someone there who will be able to send the message, but then darling we’re going home.” He only nods his head in agreement. She shifts away from him then, the sweet merciful woman, giving him time and space to control himself.

The water in the glass is still cool when it hits his mouth, refreshing and distracting in a way he dearly needs. It is not abnormally warm in the bar, but he can feel the heat of his face. When the glass is empty, he feels her fingers take hold of the bottom of the glass and he lets her take it from him.

Controlling his body is one thing but not letting his mind wander is another, his thoughts drifting in all sorts of lovely and wonderful directions at first. Pulling himself away is difficult but eventually, he settles on his steam pipe project, and for a few minutes that’s all he thinks about. Thankfully it’s enough. 

 

“I’ll go pay Steveren,” he says while standing up once that’s taken care of. Purposefully not looking in her direction when he starts to walk away, even though the expression on her face would surely delight him. He can feel her presence at his side, and that’s enough.

The most direct route to the bar is past the table she was sitting at previously. Josmin makes eye contact when he’s halfway there. He slows down as they reach the chair that Vex left vacant. 

Still determined not to be distracted by Vex, he looks at the two people sitting at the table and sees better the halfling’s kind look while Josmin has an amused expression on her face, as she asks, “Are the two of you leaving already?” Clearly already knowing the answer.

“I am sorry for taking her away so early tonight Josmin, family business,” he says quickly, as he continues to walk around the table. 

“Not a worry Percival,” she says with a nod as he starts to leave the table. 

He can hear Vex walk a little further to stand closer to Josmin. "What’s wrong? The end of the world?” he can hear Josmin ask a little bit of concern in her voice.

“Nothing so dramatic,” Vex says in return with a laugh, “our angels came home today, Odessa Tal’dore has been adventuring with them for the last few months.”

“Thank the gods that she’s alright,” Josmin says. 

“Exactly, Percy and I need to get a sending to Salda immediately,” Vex says agreeing with the older woman.

The conversation goes on but the further he gets the less he can hear, and moments after he can’t distinguish their voices from the other patrons he reaches the bar. 

“Lady Vex’ahlia’s husband,” the barman shouts in greeting after a brief glance in his direction from the far side of the bar. The barman finishes making a complicated mix drink and hands it off to one of the servers before walking toward him, “it’s been quite a while since you last stepped foot in my place and the first thing you do is confuse one of my newest servers, and now you’re leaving so early.” Steveren in clearly laughing at him.

It is easy to enjoy and respect this older man. The tenacity it must have taken to establish this place and endure the elves that don’t want him here makes this just the kind of establishment that attracts anyone wanting to get away from Syngornian society while at the same time inspiring loyalty in it’s regular patrons. 

“Hello Steveren, what’s the total for the drinks I ordered and the tab for the table?” he says quickly, already opening his coin pouch at his side, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. He has a schedule to keep.

“Twenty five gold,” the man says after a moment of doing the math in his head.

“Twenty five gold, another round for the table, and an apology for my very confused server,” he says while putting four platinum on the bar.

Steveren’s eyes go wide for a moment like he momentarily forgot who he was speaking to, then the man lets out a full belly laugh before saying just a little too loudly, “You and your northern manners are always welcome in my establishment.” 

The man’s laughter is catching it seems as he finds himself nodding along with Steveren, a smile on his face. 

When the man’s laughter slows down, he takes the coin and puts it somewhere underneath the bar. “The lady tells me you’re busy, but I must say she seems much happier now you’re here. You should come around after her meetings more often,” the happy barman says looking at him, then a little past him, in the direction of the table.

“Why do you say that?” he asks, Vex is doing something amusing, that’s what is happening right now, probably.

“First of all you usually order a couple of glasses of one of the most expensive whiskeys I carry, and that is a very nice for me and well,” he pauses to point past his shoulder, “I’m certainly not the reason she keeps glancing over here looking so pleased.”

He must have taken a breath before he turned around to look at her but he suddenly doesn't have enough air. This happens to him often, mostly it's after a kiss, or when she does something surprising in the middle of sex, but there are moments where all she has to do is look at him with that special smile, the one only he brings to her lips, and it leaves him breathless.

His vision, narrowing so he can only see her across the room. The rest of world doesn't matter. Her smile goes crooked for a second then their eyes meet, but then it just widens. She takes hold of her earing, and he can read the words on her lips as he hears it in his ear, “Percy, I must introduce you to someone.”

She stops speaking, and suddenly he can breathe again, her smile remains as he nods in understanding. 

Without looking back at the barman, he says "Steveren, have a good evening." 

Still entranced by Vex, he starts to walk toward her before he even hears Steveren say, "Good evening Lord Percival," in-between hearty bouts of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated.


End file.
